DC Courts: Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Request and Financial Information Page: 13 of 15
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Enclosure II
II. Explanatory Comments on the Draft Report
Budget submission
The District of Columbia Courts have taken important steps to improve the quality
of information in the budget submission. The Courts provided a detailed FY 2001
Budget Justification to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) in April 2000, or three months prior to Congressional action on the FY
2001 budget request. The budget justification follows the principles of OMB
Circular A-11 and includes detailed information on obligations by object
classification and activity; reimbursements and grant funding; and FTE data. It
was anticipated that this documentation would be sufficient for a determination of
the reasonableness of the Courts' FY 2001budget request.
To build on the recent enhancements made to the FY 2001 budget submission, the
Courts are reviewing their budget preparation process and submission materials.
The Courts have conducted training on the Government Performance and Results
Act (GPRA) and are working to incorporate GPRA principles in the FY 2002
budget submission. The Fiscal Officer is working closely with OMB, including
establishing an electronic connection to download Circular A-11 required budget
data into OMB's database. The D.C. Courts' FY 2002 budget submission will
comply with applicable OMB circulars and guidelines.
Defender services voucher payment and tracking
By its nature, the costs for representation of indigent clients, which are paid from
the Defender Services account, are difficult to predict because the amount in any
given year depends upon a number of variables. These variables include, for
example: (1) the number of criminal cases filed; (2) the seriousness and
complexity of each case; (3) the status and location of defendants and witnesses;
(4) sentencing alternatives; (5) completion date of the case; (6) date of submission
of the claim for payment; and (7) other case-specific issues. Some 50,000
defender services vouchers were submitted to the Courts last year, and the
amount of each depended upon the types of variables listed. These factors make it
extremely difficult to predict the level of future expenditures.
Nevertheless, the District of Columbia Courts have taken several steps to improve
their ability to estimate defender services costs, account for vouchers, and pay
attorneys. These steps include: requiring timely voucher submission (within 60
days of case completion); implementing an automated voucher tracking system,
which currently is being tested; analyzing historical Criminal Justice Act (CJA)
data to better understand the time required for the various types of cases and itsGAO/AIMD-00-172R DC Courts FY 2001 Budget
Page 13
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United States. General Accounting Office. DC Courts: Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Request and Financial Information, text, July 31, 2000; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc298542/m1/13/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.